Ed Catmull is the co-founder and President of Pixar Animation Studio. He has made several patented advances in animation technology and is the driver behind many of Pixar’s 15 amazing Academy Awards. Among other technologies, Catmull is credited with being the father of “texture mapping” – the process by which a flat (two dimensional) image is mapped onto a moving 3D image.

Dr. Catmull (he claims only his mother calls him that) is also the master behind many of animation's recent heroes. Woody, Nemo, and Mr. Incredible are just a few of the lovable characters that Catmull’s technology and direction have enabled.

Pixar was incorporated in 1985, went public in 1996, and merged with the Walt Disney Company in 2006. During that time Catmull has served in various roles spanning from code developer to chief technical officer to president of the studio.

We’d also like to thank our expert video guy Jeremy for his hard work on this footage and the other clips you see up on our website. He turns our shoddy footage into beauty and we’re very appreciative!

Interesting contrast: Pixar's executives trust the artists who produce great stuff; according to Chuck Jones' autobiography, Warner Bro's execs did the exact opposite and yet their artists also produced great stuff. Why do you suppose that is? Maybe fewer options for artists back then...or maybe when a group of people 'gel' they do great things in spite of, or because of, their environment...

Companies like Pixar function best by promoting collective creativity and constant communication. In this podcast, Ed Catmull explains that collective creativity focuses on the exchange of ideas between team members, the freedom to communicate with anyone, and interaction between the most talented staff members and the rest of the team.